Za'atar Bake

We ordered vegetarian and lamb maqloubah. The seasoning for both is good, the sauce (salty yogurt with cucumber) particularly refreshing. However the portion is indeed small for the price. My friend find the vegetarian one tasty; for me the lamb is still a bit too dry. Plus there are only two pieces of aubergine and a slice of tomato in the lamb one, while the promised cauliflower is no where to be seen.
Service is very good. Sitting in front of the oven, you can also see how your dishes has been produced, which is pleasant and entertaining. On the whole, I like the ambience, but the background music is too loud. One has to raise their voice speaking to their companion.
That being said, I would like to visit the place again. The tagine and flatbread on other tables all look very delicious.

Some great food gems happen by accident! We walked in after a long walk in Oxford, hoping to have anything to eat as we were desperately hungry & tired!
The name Bake is deceiving, as we ended up with Maqlouba instead of baked stuff!
We were not wrong, the food was delicious & enjoyed both the meat & the chicken versions of it!
Topped with Mamul & Turkish coffee, all was dreamy satisfying!
Will definitely go back, next time we are in oxford, as I loved the beats of the food here!
Greetings to all staff, truly friendly & made the whole experience an amazing one!

Thoroughly enjoyed my Lamb Shawarma 👌🏿.
Considering there are only a small handful of eateries I will give the green light in Oxford.
PS: The Baklava was fresh & so beautiful also. Nice big portions.

Place: the place is very nicely decorated and has an outdoor seating area that’s great.

Service: the staff are very friendly and extremely helpful.

Food: I had the lamb maqloubah and I thought it was very delicious. It’s very authentic. Portion was a bit small though.

Price: On the pricier end.

Overall: loved the experience. Would recommend this place to anyone wanting to try authentic Palestinian food.

12 January 2023
This is my new favourite place in Oxford's beautiful Cowley Road to have Middle East Food. Really awesome decorations, lively music and the service was quick, the staff already had the dough prepared and once we selected what we wanted to eat, they immediately started making our food and the service was quick. When we were looking at the menu, we looked at a picture of sesame flatbread that looked very delicious. We asked the serving staff if the flatbread had sesame seeds in it just like the picture and he replied that the flatbread is plain but he could add the sesame seeds in it without any charge. That was very nice of him. The meals that I have ordered were much better than I prayed for, it was very authentic, amazing and tasty. The flatbread arrived with the sesame seeds and it was very delicious. They were all very hot and fresh and I loved it. I would like to thank all of the serving staff here, they were all very friendly and kind. I live in Oxford and I certainly will come back to enjoy more of your food very soon.

21 January 2023
I visited here again for a family dinner again because I dreamt about the delicious food I ate here last week. It was brilliant. I ordered Lahme Chilli Fatayer, Chicken Maqloubah, Za'atar, Baba Ghanoush and Flat Bread with Sesame seeds on top. The friendly staff who served us had remembered us, he remembered that we liked to have sesame seeds on our flatbread. He also said that he read my review of this restaurant and this made me feel very happy. Once again, our meal came quite quickly and they were just as fresh as before. I loved every bite of our meal. I surely will come back again.

This is one of my favourite places in Oxford, right at the heart of Cowley Road – one of its liveliest. I've been here often for some great Arabic Coffee and tasty Baklava, but eventually felt compelled to try one of their mains. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner! I had the Kofta and can't wait to go for another. Delicious lamb meatballs served with potatoes, tomato sauce, and herb infused bread.

Overall, the service was great, the food was delicious with huge portions and big flavours.

We particularly enjoyed the chili prawn tagine, which was super spicy but delicious. It was filled with lots of different vegetables and perfectly cooked prawns. Definitely worth getting an ayran or lemonade to cool down your mouth!

The breads were freshly cooked right in front of us in the open kitchen. The dips were fantastic, especially the baba ganoush, which didn't last long.

Make sure you're hungry, as the portions are big and lots of things come with bread.

The fatayah were tasty, especially the spinach and cheese one.

With two pescatarians and one vegan, we were spoilt for choice, no wonder Za'atar Bake is always recommended as one of the best restaurants for vegans in Oxford.

We will definitely be coming back to dine in, or ordering takeaway, and can't wait to try more dishes (and the desserts and coffee!).

WOW!

Really amazing restaurant!
The staff are friendly and the food is amazing. The decor is also really good. It is not a very big restaurant so I would suggest making a reservation for groups bigger than 3.

We had the chicken Maqloubah and the Lahme chilli Fatayer. Both dishes were good and large portions.

A must visit if you’re in Cowley!